Need You Now
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!
Part Eleven
"Bella! Thank god!" Edward exclaimed as soon as the call connected.
"Wrong. It's Jacob."
There was a long pause.
"Put Bella on the phone right now. I want to speak to her."
"No."
"You are unbelievable, dog. She won't thank you for this. Kidnapping her and keeping her under house arrest will only make her resent you even more."
"Insulting me will get you nowhere." Jacob said coolly. His eyes were locked on Bella's. She gazed pensively up at him. She could only hear his side of the conversation and it was disconcerting. She was left imagining Edward's desperation. And he would be desperate. Bella knew him well enough to know how reckless he could be when it came to her safety. She had learned that the hard way after the stunt he had pulled in Italy.
Edward decided to regroup and try another tactic. He decided to play on Jacob's emotions instead. "I know how you feel about Bella. You want to keep her safe just like I do. But going off on your own like this, going against everything that we all planned, you are risking her life. You have to put your own feelings aside and think of her wellbeing. Look, we can still salvage this." He wheedled. "Bring her to the treaty line and we'll work this out."
"I'll come to the treaty line." Jacob's warm hand was on Bella's face. He grazed his thumb over her quivering lips.
"I am glad you've come to your senses." Edward said condescendingly. "You know, Jacob, if it weren't for the fact that we're natural enemies and that you're also trying to steal the reason for my existence, I might actually like you."
"I'm not stealing anything." Jacob retorted coldly.
"What? Are you giving up the fight?" Edward was full of sarcasm.
"I don't need to fight."
"She is mine." Edward's low voice was suddenly dark, not as composed as before. "Don't forget that."
Jacob nearly crushed Bella's cell in his tight grip as he closed his eyes, inhaling sharply. The bloodsucker was getting under his skin again. He felt Bella's cool fingers close around his and he could breathe again. Relaxing, Jacob ignored Edward's last comment and just told him that they would meet at the treaty line in ten minutes. Then he abruptly ended the call.
Jacob's lips found Bella's and she could barely breathe as he kissed her. Disjointed thoughts ran through her mind. Worry. Fear. Love. Lust. Then the faint memory of their possible future together; the two adorable bobbing heads of the black haired children running toward the forest. The way he was kissing her made her feel so good. Bella became lost in him. She slipped her arms around his neck and clung on, unwilling to let him go.
But like everything good in life it had to end.
"Bells." He whispered against her lips. "I have to go." He was full of regret.
Bella rested her forehead against his, eyes closed, and heart heavy. "Just be safe." She opened her eyes again and gazed into his pleadingly. "I know what you think of Edward but he loves me, too. Right now he's hurting." She saw a flicker of hurt cross his handsome face which he just as quickly concealed. "I'm just asking you to tread carefully around him, okay. Remember Italy."
"As if I could forget." Jacob muttered bitterly as he pulled away from her, irked that she was still defending the leech. "Don't worry I'll behave myself." He began to walk away but Bella caught hold of his arm. He could have easily shrugged her off, but he didn't, instead standing still with his back to her.
"I saw it all, Jake." She continued softly. "Our life together. When you kissed me earlier I had a vision of our future. Billy, Charlie, Sam and La Push. You standing as my protector. Our children. I want it so badly. I long for it."
Jacob spun around again and stared at her for a long moment. Bella stood before him, trembling, waiting out his reaction. Then his lips were on hers in a crushing kiss. Bella was so soft, so delicate, so tiny under his hands. His fingers spanned her waist as he lifted her up against him. Bella melted under his touch, her hands cradling his face as she tasted him on her tongue. They only broke apart to breathe.
"Do you understand now how much I love you?" She murmured as she grazed her lips across his fine stubble. "Do you?"
Jacob could only nod. He captured her lips again, kissing her hungrily, his fingers digging into her waist as he sought to bring her closer. He never wanted to let her go.
Someone cleared their throat.
With burning eyes Jacob turned to see who it was. "Charlie." He said roughly.
"Jacob." Charlie said stiffly. He was frowning heavily. "Sam's ready to go."
"Right." Jacob drew in a deep breath. He reluctantly placed Bella back on her feet. Her face was blazing with embarrassment. If the situation wasn't so serious he would be laughing. "Tell him I'm on my way."
"Fine." Charlie muttered. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and walked away.
The ferocity of the wind blew the driving snow into Jacob's eyes as he stood tensely next to his Alpha. His brothers were milling about in their wolf forms a few feet away; the intensity of the storm made them restless. Ice crystals coated Jacob's black hair and he brushed them away irritably. He wasn't cold. The snow melted as soon as it hit his fevered skin.
"They're late." Sam scowled.
Jacob peered into the gloom. He knew Cullen was doing this on purpose to put him on edge. Well he wasn't going to engage in the bloodsucker's pathetic pissing contest. Soon enough they heard the quiet purrs of several engines. Headlights pierced the thick darkness as the expensive vehicles swept into view. Jacob's glare landed on his rival's shitty silver Volvo.
Edward swept gracefully out of the car and stalked over to Jacob, his golden eyes immediately searching for Bella. When he didn't see her, his hands curled into fists as he confronted him."Deep down I knew you would pull a stunt like this. But some part of me hoped you would put your hurt pride to one side and think what is best for Bella." He sneered.
"Edward, enough." Carlisle Cullen appeared by his side and put a calming hand on his shoulder. "I am sure Jacob has a good explanation as to why Bella isn't here. We are all on the same side here."
"You're still fighting." Edward snapped at Jacob. "Despite what you claim. Do you have no comprehension of the danger you are putting Bella in?"
Jacob copied Sam and hid his feelings behind a stoical mask. He knew that Cullen was trying to get a rise out of him and probably trying to read his mind, but Jacob was giving nothing away in his head. Instead he focused on other things and he saw frustration cross Edward's face as he gnashed his poisoned teeth together.
"You lied to us." Sam addressed Carlisle as he decided to intervene and take over the conversation.
"In what respect?" Carlisle was troubled. Behind stood the rest of his family. Alice was tucked under Jasper's protective arm. Esme stood beside them, looking stricken, while Rosalie and her mate kept to the shadows.
"We've learned that the psychic's visions are subjective. They are unreliable." Sam continued, not bothering to mask his anger anymore. "How do you expect us to trust you if you keep something so significant to yourselves."
"Alice has been monitoring Victoria's decisions carefully. Yes, what she sees can change, but so far nothing has. Alice?" Carlisle's blonde hair ruffled in the wind as he turned to look at her.
"No." Alice said quietly. "Victoria hasn't changed her mind." Her haunted eyes glanced in Edward's direction. "My only worry is I can no longer see Bella."
"What?" Edward exploded as he turned on his adopted sister.
"I can't see past the wolves." Alice reminded him. "I've tried but everything is hazy around her."
"This is exactly what I was talking about." Edward jabbed an accusing finger in Jacob's direction. "You are making us blind. When Bella was with me Alice could see Bella's future and we could secure her safety. You are putting her in danger because of your own selfishness."
"Edward, please." Esme begged, distressed by all the ill feelings floating around. "We all love Bella."
"But his is a selfish love." Edward was too incensed to listen. He was crazed with fear about what was going to happen on the morrow. He suffered agonies not having Bella with him. He longed to cradle her in his hard arms and to kiss her sweet lips. He stared at Jacob, his nostrils flaring as he tried to regain his composure. "When I left Bella, I left her bleeding. You were the one who stitched her up again. That was bound to leave its mark-on both of you. I'm not sure those kind of stitches dissolve on their own. I can't blame either of you for something I made necessary. I may gain forgiveness, but that doesn't let me escape the consequences. I understand your love, Jacob Black, and your need to protect her, but you are wrong to keep her from where she wants and needs to be."
Jacob noticed the sympathetic looks that Edward's 'family' were throwing him. His noble little speech was touching to them. But to Jacob it was just another sickening manipulation. He exchanged a charged look with his Alpha. He stepped forward, cutting Edward off before he could continue. "Enough of the theatrics. Now listen. This is how it's going to be."
In a harsh voice he outlined his plans for the battle the next day. He saw shock register on some of the Cullens faces, but really he was only interested in one of their opinions. He looked at Jasper Hale, the battle scarred vamp who had trained them how to fight the newborns. "Do you think it will work?" He demanded.
Jasper regarded him coolly. "We'll make it work." He conceded.
"Good." Jacob said no more but stepped back into the darkness and phased. Sam and the rest of the pack followed him without question. He could hear Edward raging at his family and them trying to soothe his fears. But soon their voices faded into nothing as he headed for home and Bella.
A/N-thanks for reading!